6th May 2009, 12:49 PM
I'm absolutely elated after just finishing Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder, so that show definitely ranks high up on my list of favourite cartoons. Fry's and Leela's relationship is the focal point of that show and the reason why I like it so much. Don't get me wrong, the show as a whole is hysterical, but their complicated relationship is what really keeps it all together. Fry playing the holophonor at the end of "The Devil’s Hands Are Idle Playthings" and spelling Leela's name with stars in "Time Keeps On Slippin" are very touching moments. It's hard enough to achieve a sense of empathy and rapport with any two characters in any medium, but Futurama crafted one of the most gut-wrenching love stories that I've ever seen on TV, and they did it using a mutant cyclops and a man frozen a thousand years in the past.
That being said, it'd be impossible for me to leave out The Simpsons as one of my favourite cartoons. I never watched any child-orientated TV shows as a kid; all I can remember is watching the earliest syndicated episodes of The Simpsons. It's grown on me in a powerful way and I've seen every episode from Season 1 to about Season 11 more times than I'm willing to admit. Aside from the classic episodes that any Simpsons will list as among their favourites, such as "Marge vs. The Monorail," "Homer at Bat," and "Deep Space Homer," the ones that really stick out as my favourites are "Mother Simpson" (still my favourite episode and enough to send chills down my spine just thinking about it), "Moaning Lisa," "Round Springfield" (the two eps where Bleeding Gums Murphy is a central character), "I Love Lisa," and really any other episode centering around Lisa (and no, I didn't remember all of these episode titles - I had to use Wikipedia to come up with a few of them). Like countless other fans, The Simpsons holds a pretty special place in my heart and I still watch the show whenever I see it on TV. I still laugh at the same jokes as I did when I was six years old fer chrissakes.
And finally, I gotta say that I'm shocked that nobody has listed King of the Hill as one of their favourites. That's definitely on the same level as The Simpsons and Futurama in my book. I remember reading somewhere that KotH is the only animated show that could be funny as a live-action sitcom, and those are really the best words to describe it. I'm pretty sad that KotH is ending after providing so many hilarious moments. It pokes fun at American culture in a funnier and more realistic way than any other show out there (like the eps on carbon offsets, MySpace, and any reference to whatever trend or fad is popular) and it does it in such a bland and dry manner that you realize just how ridiculous and fake and contrived everything in the world, including yourself, is. KotH is another show I've been watching for many years, and I get a nostalgia boost watching old episodes of it in the same was as I do watching old episodes of The Simpsons. King of the Hill though, Old Faithful that it is, has managed to be funny for basically its entire lifespan whereas new episodes of The Simpsons ("new" being anything from Season 12 or 13 onward) are slightly-above-average at best, and utterly unwatchable at worst.
I also like South Park for some of the reasons Geno mentioned and also because I can remember staying up until midnight with my older brother when I was still in elementary school to secretly watch episodes, and I guess I like Family Guy because it's a de facto requirement for being a student. So I guess those are my top five adult animated cartoons: Futurama, The Simpsons, King of the Hill, South Park, and Family Guy. And whaddaya know, they also happen to be the most successful animated shows in history. Whatever. I also enjoy Frasier and Seinfeld.
That being said, it'd be impossible for me to leave out The Simpsons as one of my favourite cartoons. I never watched any child-orientated TV shows as a kid; all I can remember is watching the earliest syndicated episodes of The Simpsons. It's grown on me in a powerful way and I've seen every episode from Season 1 to about Season 11 more times than I'm willing to admit. Aside from the classic episodes that any Simpsons will list as among their favourites, such as "Marge vs. The Monorail," "Homer at Bat," and "Deep Space Homer," the ones that really stick out as my favourites are "Mother Simpson" (still my favourite episode and enough to send chills down my spine just thinking about it), "Moaning Lisa," "Round Springfield" (the two eps where Bleeding Gums Murphy is a central character), "I Love Lisa," and really any other episode centering around Lisa (and no, I didn't remember all of these episode titles - I had to use Wikipedia to come up with a few of them). Like countless other fans, The Simpsons holds a pretty special place in my heart and I still watch the show whenever I see it on TV. I still laugh at the same jokes as I did when I was six years old fer chrissakes.
And finally, I gotta say that I'm shocked that nobody has listed King of the Hill as one of their favourites. That's definitely on the same level as The Simpsons and Futurama in my book. I remember reading somewhere that KotH is the only animated show that could be funny as a live-action sitcom, and those are really the best words to describe it. I'm pretty sad that KotH is ending after providing so many hilarious moments. It pokes fun at American culture in a funnier and more realistic way than any other show out there (like the eps on carbon offsets, MySpace, and any reference to whatever trend or fad is popular) and it does it in such a bland and dry manner that you realize just how ridiculous and fake and contrived everything in the world, including yourself, is. KotH is another show I've been watching for many years, and I get a nostalgia boost watching old episodes of it in the same was as I do watching old episodes of The Simpsons. King of the Hill though, Old Faithful that it is, has managed to be funny for basically its entire lifespan whereas new episodes of The Simpsons ("new" being anything from Season 12 or 13 onward) are slightly-above-average at best, and utterly unwatchable at worst.
I also like South Park for some of the reasons Geno mentioned and also because I can remember staying up until midnight with my older brother when I was still in elementary school to secretly watch episodes, and I guess I like Family Guy because it's a de facto requirement for being a student. So I guess those are my top five adult animated cartoons: Futurama, The Simpsons, King of the Hill, South Park, and Family Guy. And whaddaya know, they also happen to be the most successful animated shows in history. Whatever. I also enjoy Frasier and Seinfeld.